Life without Pain
by AstraeltheDestroyer
Summary: Extreme Angst, kind of a repost with a lot of differences in later chapters. All FFVII characters, hope you all like. Rated M for a good reason. AerisxCloud pairing mostly, other character pairings too. Disclaimer I don't own any of the characters!
1. A Thousand Broken Pieces

_Ok so this is a repost, I had some of it up before but noticed that it needed a lot of corrections, so this is it! I have about seven chapters done and I'm really enjoying writing this. It's EXTREMELY angsty, I mean majorly. I hope there will be a lot of readers who like angst cause this one practically screams it. So I hope you all enjoy!!!_

_P.S This ones for Beeria who gave me really good tips THANKS!!!_

Chapter 1- A Thousand Broken Pieces

Aeris awoke bright and early the next day. It was her sixteenth birthday. Her mother was away on business and therefore would not be home for her birthday. She got up from her bed and dressed in her best clothes. She decided to take a walk around the garden with her dog, Kibeth. Kibeth was a big 90 lb St. Bernard that was sent to her for Christmas last year. Her parents had been with her on that day, but it was the last time she would ever see her father. Aeris' father was a powerful undercover agent for the president that traveled the planet to protect the president and others. She was grateful to have such a strong father but she just wished that he hadn't left that night. He was killed the next morning by Sephiroth.

Aeris put on her corset, then followed that by wearing the pretty pink dress her father had given her a while ago, she looked at herself in the mirror. She was very pretty for being only sixteen and she was proud to say she looked just like her mother except she had her fathers bright green eyes. Everyone always told her how beautiful she was with her long wavy brown hair and her bright green eyes. Her slightly tanned smooth skin was another feature every guy from her hometown, Midgar to Wutai fawned over. Aeris drew her fist back and brought it forward quickly, shattering the mirror into a thousand tiny pieces. She nodded in approval as she grabbed her two swords, placing them in the straps on her back and walked out the door.

"Kibeth!" Aeris called and her puppy came running, "Good Morning girl."

Aeris looked up and saw storm clouds rolling in from the south.

"Just a quick walk today, alright?"

They set off around the walkway that led to Aeris' flower garden. The flowers and weeds had grown so tall that she couldn't see above them or between them. She walked around the corner of the garden, humming to herself. Kibeth started tugging on the leash and sniffing the air furiously. She let out a booming bark and started sprinting off between the hedges.

"KIBETH!!!," Aeris screamed.

She was being tugged along as Kibeth ran around corners. Her hand was tangled in the dogs leash so it was impossible to let go. Kibeth stopped so suddenly that Aeris had no time to stop and she was thrown forward and landed on the ground with a loud "Oomph"

"Damn dog," Aeris muttered as she got up off the ground and wiped the dirt off her clothes. Then there was a rustle in the bushes and whispered voices in the weeds. Aeris quickly grabbed for her swords and stood silently, waiting for whatever was in the weeds to make its appearance. She listened intently to see if she could figure out what she was about to face and then she heard voices... human voices.

"Who's there," Aeris said calmly, "Show yourself."

The voices started whispering more quickly and then they stepped out from their hiding places.

Two people, the first could only be a couple of years older than Aeris herself the other one didn't look much older than twenty. A tall boy with bright blonde hair and royal blues eyes was the first out of the hedges. The next was a shady man with dark hair and red eyes.

"Uh..." the blonde boy began, placing his hand on the back of his head, "We need you to come with us, it's important."

"What? I've never seen you before in my life!" Aeris exclaimed.

"It's the truth, Aeris," the dark haired man said slowly, "You are in danger, and if you stay here you will be putting your mother in danger too."

Aeris stared bewildered by all this.

"How do you know my name?"

"It doesn't matter, we need to leave now," the blonde boy answered.

"No..., I-I can't I can't leave my mom..." Aeris said.

"If you stay, they will kill her and then kill you," the dark haired man said, "We can offer you some protection for the time being, but I'm afraid we might be too late. I fear it's they've already began."

"What? What has already began? Do I have a choice to leave?" Aeris asked already knowing the answer.

"We will explain more later, we don't have time now and no you don't have a choice, you must come with us whether you want to or not," the dark haired man said.

"I-I don't even know your names though?"

"Right," the blonde haired boy said, "I'm Cloud and this is Vincent, now we must go."

Aeris nodded and turned away to look at her house. It had started to rain. She thought for a moment about running but she knew they would probably be quick and then she thought about pleading with them to let her stay and to just leave her alone, but she knew that wouldn't work either.

"C-can I pack some things?" She asked sadly.

"Yes, but we must hurry" Cloud said.

Aeris nodded and led the way to her house. She left them in the living room and went upstairs to pack some things. She ran the last few steps to her room and started throwing everything she could find in a suitcase. She was crying silently now, all she knew was that if she didn't hurry something would come for her mother. She grabbed Kibeth's leash and wrote a quick note to her mother, she would leave it downstairs on the kitchen counter.

She walked down the stairs and gave Cloud the suitcase and Vincent the dog's leash.

"I'm going to leave this for my mom, ok?" Aeris said.

"No," Vincent replied, "They'll be here soon and if they finds any trace of where you've gone, they'll hunt you down."

Aeris nodded sadly and placed the note in her pocket then she followed the two boys outside where a chocobo- drawn carriage was standing. The two boys entered the carriage and waited for Aeris to get in. She didn't want to leave, she looked at her house, she was crying hard now but you couldn't really tell. The rain was coming down hard now. She turned around and entered the carriage, not knowing what her future held or what she had just gotten into. She was scared but she knew this is what she must do.


	2. Footsteps

_Ok second chapter! YAY!!! So read and review please?!?!?!? Enjoy_

Ch. 2- Footsteps

The trio and the dog had been traveling for hours non-stop. The rain was beating down hard on the carriage roof making Aeris drowsy and soon she fell asleep. The other two people in the carriage were sitting quietly and didn't speak at all. Cloud was listening to the rain and found himself absentmindedly staring at Aeris.

A soft "caw" came from outside and Cloud immediately stuck his arm out the carriage window. A heavy black bird landed on his arm, it was carrying a message. He brought the wet bird inside the carriage and untied the note on it's foot. He reached inside one of his pockets and pulled out some soft jerky and gave it to the bird. The bird cawed in delight and then jumped out the window. Vincent had fallen asleep so Cloud decided to open the letter and read it himself.

_Cloud, _

_Are you okay? Did everything go as planned? _

_Everyone's dying to know. We need this girl, only _

_she can get what we need. If they get a hold of her they will _

_get the weapon and use it against the world. You must be careful. _

_Yours always, Tifa_.

Cloud rolled his eyes in annoyance. He had heard the same thing about a million times, he knew how important it was to get her to the castle safely. He knew the consequences if he failed...

Just then a loud roar from outside shook through the forest. Cloud had been hoping not to encounter any demons on their venture back, but his luck had just ran out. Aeris awoke with a start looking around nervously, Vincent was still sound asleep.

"Can you fight?" Cloud asked while waking Vincent with a rude kick to the shin.

"Y-yes, a little," Aeris answered.

"Then let's go, ladies first." she stared at him bewildered by this statement. She had never fought a real demon, only simulations in her battle classes.

Aeris cautiously left the safety of the carriage and entered the cold rainy outside. Although it was the middle of July the air had turned frosty and every time Aeris exhaled a white puff of smoke was released. Cloud and Vincent soon followed Aeris' footsteps. It must have been below freezing, the chocobos feathers were rimmed with ice and the rain was no longer wet, but hard pieces of ice falling from the sky. They couldn't see two inches in front of them, because a thick fog had rolled in.

"It's s-so c-cold" Aeris said, rubbing her arms to get some warmth. Cloud was about to put his arms around her for some reason but then a loud boom shook the forest floor and then another. Footsteps.

A looming figure came out of the thick fog and before anyone could react the creature swooped his hand down throwing everyone in different directions. No one could see where the other went. Gun shots echoed through the forest and the thing roared in anger.

Aeris got up quickly and ran towards where she thought the thing might be.

"Vincent! Stop," Aeris screamed as a bullet soared past her head, "You'll hit one of us!"

The fire seized, everything was quiet for a second. Then the demon went straight towards Aeris. The huge creature now wielded an axe. He swung it down and Aeris was too late to react. The axe sliced through her left side, blood was starting to pour out of the deep wound. She collapsed on the floor moaning in pain. She looked up to see the figure raise it's axe to bring down upon her helpless body. Out of nowhere Cloud appeared. He swung his buster sword heavily cutting through the hand that wielded the axe. Black blood fell out of It's wrist hitting the ground, the blood seemed to be absorbed into the ground instead of leaving a puddle.

The demon was furious now. He swiped here and there trying to destroy everything he possibly could. Cloud ducked and swerved the demons arms and finally when he had the chance he lunged for it's heart. His sword made direct contact where the heart should be and Cloud twisted with all his might. The creature roared in fury and pain and then in a split second everything was back to normal. It was still raining, lightly now, and the fog disappeared. The temperature had gone back to a nice 80 degrees. The chocobos were a bit distressed but other than that they were fine.

As Cloud recovered he remembered that Aeris was lying somewhere seriously injured. He turned around and looked all around him. He didn't have to look far though. Vincent was crouched over Aeris, she wasn't moving. Then as Vincent used his healing magic she coughed and returned to life. She was paler than ever and shaking more furiously now. Cloud quickly walked over to them.

"How is she?" he asked quietly.

"She won't make it unless we hurry back to the castle where she can get proper care. My healing powers are weak, I took classes for destruction not healing" Vincent murmured quietly.

Blood was still pouring from the deep wound left from the demon. Vincent took off his cloak and wrapped it tightly around Aeris' waist. They were both quiet for a minute wondering what to do next.

"I'll take a chocobo with Aeris," Cloud said, "The chocobo will run faster with just us on it, send a letter by Raven immediately, tell them.. tell them to meet me on the main road and bring healers with them." Vincent nodded whistling for a Raven from the skies. It was harder to call one down since the storm was picking up again. Cloud had already mounted his chocobo and was waiting for Vincent to hand him Aeris' helpless body. She was still breathing, very slowly though and she was paler than a ghost.

"Hand me her," Cloud said, Vincent gently picked up her body and handed her to Cloud. She gasped in pain when they moved her from one place to another. Vincent nodded and Cloud took off.

"It's alright, Aeris," Cloud said softly as he coaxed the big yellow bird to go faster. There was still at least 3 hours until they would get to headquarters if Cloud drove the bird hard and fast. The chances of Aeris surviving this journey were slim to none "I won't let you die, I promise."


	3. Recovery

_Yeah I know it's been awhile, thank you all for reviewing. Here's chapter 3 hope you like!!!_

Ch. 3- Recovery

Cloud had been traveling at full speed for what seemed like hours, the chocobo was trying to stop but Cloud wouldn't let it. The rain was still coming down, it had started to pick up again. Aeris kept slipping in and out of consciousness and even though Cloud kept telling her to hang in there he knew she wouldn't last much longer.

As he came around the bend that would lead up to the castle a group of people on chocobos were speeding out the castle gates.

"Cloud!" He knew that voice, it was Tifa. Behind her were people he knew as healers.

"We just got your letter," Tifa exclaimed. "We didn't know if we were too late, we hurried as fast as we could."

"We might still be too late," Cloud said looking down at the lifeless body. The healers immediately dismounted their chocobos and grabbed for Aeris. She was completely limp now and her chest wasn't moving like it should. She didn't even make a noise when they had moved her.

The healers laid her on the ground and formed a circle around her. Magic spells flowed from their hands out onto Aeris' body. Every time a spell hit her body she moved a little and then finally, she breathed back into life. She rolled over on her side that wasn't cut open and vomited on the ground. She cried out in pain and stopped moving, but she was still breathing hard.

"We need to get her to the hospital wing," an old healer said quickly, "Now, before she loses more blood."

Cloud picked her up and walked quickly to the hospital wing followed by Tifa and the healers. Cloud felt light headed. He placed Aeris on the hospital bed and Master Healers started working on her. Cloud could barely breath and he started getting more and more light headed...

"Are you alright?" a nurse asked Cloud. He was breathing hard and he was on the ground for some reason.

"Oh dear" the nurse exclaimed, she said a quick spell that made Cloud cough. "You can't go dying on us either little boy, now get up. Come on."

Cloud shakily got back on his feet and sat on the nearest hospital bed.

The hospital doors banged open and in came a mass of people. Cloud knew these people all too well.. Yuffie Kisaragi, Barret Wallace, Red XIII, Cid Highwind, Cait Sith, a soaking wet Tifa Lockheart and a very disgruntled Vincent Valentine, who was accompanied by a big wet smelly dog.

"So I'm glad to see at least you two made it back alive," Yuffie said joyously, "Now about our little Abbigael?"

"She'll be fine," Vincent answered cooly, "She just needs to recover for a few days."

"Yeah, you better hope she lives or Headmaster Everest will be p-oed" Red XIII said, laughing at the end. Just then the healers left calmly through the doors without a word. Aeris was lying sound asleep on the hospital bed. She looked peaceful and she had some color back in her skin.

"You'll want to let her rest for the night, she'll be awake tomorrow morning if you want to come and see her" the nurse said and shooed the bunch out of the room.

"But-" Yuffie began but the door slammed rudely in her face, "I wanted to at least see what she looked like.." She mumbled the rest and turned away sadly.

"Well we'll see her tomorrow morning," Vincent said, "besides, Cid needs to get his rest, he's going to practice his new jump on his new motorbike tomorrow." Everyone laughed and went off in different directions to their bed. Cloud walked more slowly to his room. He couldn't get his mind off of her. After a quick shower he laid naked in his bed, listening to the thunder strike every so often. He soon fell into dreams of Aeris... all night he dreamt of her.

Early next morning a small crowd was formed outside, Cloud decided to go see how Aeris was doing instead of watching the "show." He had seen enough of these failed jumps to know that they were only funny until Cid started to complain about broken bones and cuts.

He walked into the hospital room and saw that Aeris was fully awake, reading a book and eating breakfast.

"What? No bacon?" Cloud asked when he saw that Aeris was only eating oatmeal and toast.

"Uh... no, I'm a vegetarian." She laughed weakly and grabbed her side. Cloud smiled sympathetically.

"May I?" he asked and gestured towards a chair near her bed.

"Yeah, of course, but wouldn't you much rather be outside? It looks like something bigs happening." Sure enough, you had a full view of a big crowd and there seemed to be a lot of commotion in the center of the circle.

"Oh yeah, Cid's going to try a new jump" Cloud said chuckling, "He's going to try to make it from that ramp all the way onto this roof." He pointed up and Aeris followed his finger up.

"Wait, so if he makes one mistake then he'll come crashing right into this room?"

"Uh.." Cloud started but just then Cid revved his bike up and started down the runway. He hit the ramp going at least over 100 mph and... BANG!!! He made it onto the roof but the roof gave way and he fell straight into the hospital room barely missing Aeris' bed.

"HOLY SHIT" Aeris exclaimed. There was dust everywhere and broken pieces of wood. Cid lay on the ground moaning in pain from the crash. The nurse stormed in, dumbfounded by the mess in her hospital room.

"What on Earth is going on here!" The nurse yelled. She stormed over to where Cid was laying. He was huddled on the floor near his bike... or what was left of it.

"Cid Highwind! How many times are you going to do this stuff? Huh?" the nurse yelled in hs face.

"I-I was just trying to have some fun" he moaned.

"Well how about you have fun in detention for three weeks? Does that sound like fun?"

"Awe..."

The nurse escorted him roughly out the door. While all this was happening Cloud and Aeris watched in pure shock, their mouths wide open. Then when the door shut they both burst out laughing. Aeris clutched her side and tried her hardest to stop laughing but the whole scene was just too funny.

"So when will you be able to leave this room?" Cloud asked Aeris when their laughing subsided.

"Uh, I don't know the nurse told me I could probably go down to the great hall tonight" Aeris said, "I guess there's some kind of welcoming ceremony for new students?"

"Yeah," Cloud began, "This is a school for Knights and Sorcerers. It's a really good school, we train knights and sorcerers for 4 years from ages 13- 19."

"Oh, so do you teach then?"

"No," he laughed, "I'm 18, I'm a senior at this school."

"Really? Then how come you're doing quests and stuff like that. I mean it seems to me that I'm kind of important..."

"You're extremely important, and I'm thinking that tomorrow you'll find out more about why we had to go get you so quickly, but right now I have to go, I forgot that I have to go help the headmaster with something. So I'll see you tonight?"

"Yeah of course, I'll be there," Aeris smiled and watched Cloud leave. They both smiled dumbly for sometime after their conversation was over.


	4. Making Enemies

_Yeah so I was bored so I posted the 4th chapter. Here it is hope you like! Read and Review please. (and Happy New Year!!!!)_

Ch. 4- Making Enemies

Later that evening all of the new students and the old students were placed in the great hall for the opening ceremony. There were hundreds of round tables set up around the hall, each table was decorated with the school colors silver and red. Food was already placed on the tables and little name cards were on each chair to show people who sat where. A magical projection was set up so all of the students and parents could see what was going on that school year. There were tournaments, dances, Christmas parties and everything else you could think of.

The students and their families were all escorted to the castle by carriage rides led by chocobos. They were all due to arrive at 6 that night and they would all be escorted to their table by hired ushers.

Aeris was forced to get dressed in the hospital wing and was forced to walk on crutches so she wouldn't put pressure on the wound. At a quarter to 6 there was a knock on the hospital room.

"Uh come in" Aeris said not wanting to get up and hobble to the door. Cloud walked in and waved sheepishly.

"Hi," he said not looking at Aeris but at the ground, "Um I wanted to know if um you needed anything? Or any help getting down to the great hall, cause of your wound and all?"

Aeris smiled widely and giggled a little, "No I don't need any help."

"Oh, uh alright," Cloud said and turned to walk out the door.

"But I would like some company."

Aeris smiled as Cloud turned around quickly with a small smile on his face. Aeris cracked up laughing and Cloud blushed crimson red.

"So, do you have a girlfriend... or boyfriend?" Aeris asked as they slowly walked to the dining area.

"Oh, yeah well I kinda have a girlfriend, we never really made it official we kind of just do stuff together, you know?" Cloud rambled.

"We as in??" Aeris said trying to hide the hurt in her voice.

"Tifa"

"Oh, yeah that's cool..." They were both silent for a minute and stopped looking at each other. Aeris felt so stupid. She had only known Cloud for a couple of days and she already thought that they might have something together.

"So this is it." Cloud said and stopped in front of two huge doors. No one had arrived yet so Aeris was able to walk through the mass of tables quite easily and found herself seated at a table with all of Clouds friends. None of them had family members present. Cloud sat down and introduced Aeris to the group."Um Aeris this is, Red XIII(he pointed to a red lion looking creature), Yuffie Kisaragi(a small girl that looked kind of fragile but full of life, she smiled and waved), you already know Cid Highwind(everyone laughed at the heavily bandaged Cid) and Vincent Valentine, and this is Tifa Lockheart."(He gestured to a long haired, big breasted girl, she took his hand immediately and smiled coldly at Aeris)

Aeris smiled and waved at everyone, just then people started pouring into the great hall. Aeris was surprised to see that everything was going so smoothly. After a long wait for everyone to get seated the ceremony began. The projection showed a video of different classes and different school houses. There were three in the school and if anyone wanted to join a jousting team or a dueling team(magic or weapons) they would have to try out for each different house. Everyone ate and talked and then the ceremony was over. Families said their goodbyes and left to catch a chocobo home, then the new students were escorted to their rooms and the older students walked off to catch up with one another and talk about their summers.

'Hey, Hey Aeris!" Yuffie called out as Aeris started to get up and find her own room, "I can show you to your room. You're sharing a tower with us so your room will be right down the hall from me and Vincent."

"Oh okay cool," Aeris said and hopped by Yuffie's side to their room.

"Yeah, so this is your room," Yuffie said it was a nice room, Aeris had her own fireplace and bathroom. "If you need anything, I'm that door there, and Vincent is that door there" She pointed to doors on either side of hers.

"Thank you" Aeris smiled and went to her room, Yuffie had already taken off in a hurry. Just as Aeris sat down to take her shoes off there was a knock on her door.

"Yes?"

"Hey," It was Cloud's voice, "Can I come in for a sec?" He had already walked in and sat down next to Aeris on her bed. "So uh, do you like your room?"

"Yes of course, I already feel at home"

"Were you being sarcastic?"

"No," Aeris laughed, "I really like it here, a lot of nice people, except for that girlfriend of yours..."

"Yeah I know she hates any girl that ever looks at me, sorry about that."

"Oh it's alright, I'll just have to steer clear of the both of you from now on."

"What?" Cloud asked bewildered by this comment, "No, don't mind her it's fine."

Aeris laughed and laid down, she didn't take her eyes off of Cloud. His pale porcelain skin sparkled in the moonlight, he looked so angelic. She reached her hand up without knowing it and stroked his smooth skin with the back of her hand. He turned quickly to look at her.

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," she blushed and turned away."It's okay, it happens everyday" He laughed."What? Really?"

"No." He got up and walked to the door. "I've never been touched like that, and I never expected such a beautiful girl would ever touch me like that" He smiled and waved a little goodbye, shutting the door quietly.

"You know," came a voice from the shadows, "It's not good to go making enemies with Tifa, she's a powerful girl, Aeris."

Red XIII walked out from the shadows and out the door without another word.  
"What the hell?" Aeris muttered.


	5. The Reason

_Alright chapter 5!!! Hope you all like!!! Reviews are appreciated but not required lol._

_P.S This one is for hetlemony who offered me great critiscm. I went back and added more details, so I hope this is better!!!_

Ch. 5- The Reason

Aeris awoke the next morning bright and early, the murmur of voices had awoken her. She sat up and looked around her room. It was bright with morning sunshine and you could see dust in the rays of sunlight coming through the window. The left wall was nothing but a window, showing the dense forest and the snow-topped mountains. In front of her bed was a marbled fireplace of such splendid beauty. A door on just right of the fireplace led to her medium- sized bathroom. A small window was on the right side of the fireplace, this window looked out into the vast courtyard of the school with the tall water fountain in the middle. You could see rain clouds gathering far off in the distance. On her right side was a plain stone wall with a nice replica of a Monet painting and a door leading to the tower, She was about to lay back down to get some more rest when she saw a note placed on her night stand.

_Aeris, I need a word with you in my office, Cloud should be present too, let's say noon. Can't wait, Headmaster Everest._

Aeris looked at her watch, it was 11:30, so she had to dress as fast as her wound would let her. She didn't want to walk on crutches so she hunched over and walked into the living room. Aeris looked around and saw everyone sitting on the nice comfy couches all facing the fireplace. The window's were open and the velvety-grey drapes were pulled back, letting a soft cool breeze fill the room.

"Has anyone seen Cloud," Aeris asked, and she met cold eyes from Tifa, "The headmaster wanted to see us." Cloud walked down the stairs from his room just then and saw Aeris hunched over looking a little lost.

"Shouldn't you be on crutches?" He asked.

"Yeah but you know..." Aeris said and handed him the letter.

"We better go then, it will look better on your part if we show up early." Aeris nodded and turned around, still hunched over awkwardly and walking lightly on her left foot. "Maybe you should get our crutches"

"No, no" Aeris said breathlessly, she was trying to breath through the pain coursing through her body.

"Ok... lets go then," Cloud turned to walk away and then everyone heard Tifa scowl. Cloud smiled and turned around to give Tifa a quick kiss goodbye, then they were off.

Aeris made a whipping sound as soon as they were out of ears reach of Tifa. Cloud rolled his eyes and smiled a little, as Aeris burst out laughing.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Aeris said, she was still hunched over in a weird position and she was having a hard time picking up the pace.

"Would you like me to carry you?" Cloud laughed lightly, Aeris giggled nervously and looked away. The truth was that she did want to be carried or put in a wheel chair, anything.

"Uh, a wheelchair would be nice."

Cloud laughed and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder carefully.

"Is this better?"

Aeris was laughing too hard to say anything, even though she hurt terribly. As they approached a large wooden door at the end of the passage Cloud set Aeris down. She stumbled backward and he caught her quickly so she wouldn't fall down. Cloud pulled her close to him, holding her waist tightly to his, he angled his head down to look at Aeris, he was surprised to see that her face was angled upward. He had hardly noticed how vibrant her eyes were until this moment. They were the most beautiful shade of green he had ever seen. Their faces were close and they were breathing hard from laughing so much. Aeris smiled a little and looked away, not wanting to look at Cloud's beautiful blue eyes. Cloud reached up and turned Aeris' face back to look at his, he stroked Aeris' cheek, smiling slightly. He licked his lips quickly and leaned down, his full pink lips brushing against hers playfully...

"Excuse me..."

Cloud pushed Aeris away from him hard and she fell down on her ass. She cried out in pain and laid on the ground in fetal position.

"Fuck!" she moaned and twisted in pain, the cut had reopened and blood was leaking out of it.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to..." Cloud quickly bent down to try and help Aeris up but she was still rolling around in pain. She kept hitting Cloud's hand away.

"Uh, may I?" It was the headmaster, Everest. Cloud and Aeris both became extremely quiet. The headmaster leaned down and muttered some words that flowed down his arm and out his finger tips to land lightly on Aeris' wound. The wound immediately stopped bleeding and turned to a deep white scar.

"There," the headmaster said, "I would have healed that completely two nights ago but I have just only recovered from a long journey. Now, if you may."

He pointed his arm towards the now open door and Cloud and Aeris walked in. They both looked at each other sheepishly and wouldn't look each other in the eyes.

"Now if you may, I would like to start off by saying good morning to the both of you and now I would like to talk about this prophecy."

He looked at both Cloud and Aeris and they nodded for Everest to continue.

"Well, I would like to make this long story short. Aeris you have Sephiroth's blood in you. The man you have always thought to be your father is just a foster parent. He was ordered to do it by a secret society so that Sephiroth never found you. Your blood is very powerful and it is only you that can hold the weapon of mass destruction, a weapon with so much force it can wipe out an entire planet in less than two seconds. Now that your foster father is gone you have no protection so we decided to bring you here to live in our protection. But we can only protect you for so long. Sooner or later you will need to find this weapon yourself and destroy it before it destroys the world. Do you understand? "

Aeris looked at Everest and then at Cloud, she didn't know what to say, it was all too much for her.

"What? No that can't be. I look just like my father, I swear it. You must have the wrong girl." Aeris stated matter of factly.

"No, Aeris," Everest said kindly, "You are the girl we were looking for. I was there at your birth. I watched Sephiroth hold you and sign your birth certificate, Aeris, he gave you your name. Cloud and the others will be your protectors until you are strong enough to make the venture to retrieve the weapon."

Aeris didn't say anything, she turned to look at Cloud. He was looking at her now, his eyes were full of sadness.

They both walked out of the headmaster's office a little while later. Aeris hadn't said a word since she was told about her true past. Everything she had ever known was a lie. Cloud was quiet too he reached over and put his arm around Aeris' waist to pull her into a tight hug.

"It will be okay," he whispered softly in her ear, "I'll protect you, I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you."


	6. Heart Broken

_Yeah so this is chapter 6 I finished writing it, there are only 11 chapters to the whole story. I kinda like the ending though :). Well hope you like it Read and Review Please!!!_

Ch. 6- Heart Broken

Aeris and Cloud didn't speak with each other after the incident outside headmaster Everest's office. Tifa made it impossible for either of them to talk or even see each other. Aeris didn't mind though, she thought it was better this way, she would rather not start fights with someone who is supposed to be protecting her. The days passed quickly and Aeris still hadn't made many friends. She kept to herself, lost in her own thoughts of longing for home and for someone she could talk to. The summer days turned to autumn and autumn turned to winter. She was taking black magic classes and skill classes. She did surprisingly well in sword fighting and archery, the black magic was a different story. In the two months of beginning her black magic classes she had managed to set a student on fire and cause it to rain in all the corridors for days without stopping.

Aeris was completely unhappy with everything around her. She began to shut herself off to everyone and stayed in her room all day, she only left to eat and go to classes. Kibeth had abandoned her and now went everywhere with Red XIII. She felt so alone. She had even picked up the a nasty habit of cutting when she failed to do something right. No one noticed though, she always wore an arm warmer and long sleeves.

It snowed hard the first of December and although everyone was outside playing in the snow, Aeris just wanted to be left alone. She looked out the window to see everyone laughing and having a good time and then there was a knock on her door.

"Uh, come in," she said curiously. Vincent walked in slowly and shut the door.

"I want you to go outside, I'm tired of watching you sit in here alone," he said quietly.

"I- I," she was lost for words, "Sure?"

She grabbed her coat and put on her boots, then followed Vincent out.

"Cloud never stops talking about you," Vincent said.

"What?" Aeris was astonished that he could just say anything without even thinking about it.

"Yeah, he's pretty much heart-broken that Tifa won't let him go anywhere alone. It's getting pretty annoying."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, so you and Tifa need to be friends, you need to earn her trust."

"What, why?"

"So she'll let Cloud have some space for once. I can't even talk to him alone anymore. Ever since you got here she's been extra clingy to him."

"Well why doesn't he just tell her something then?

"Because... Cloud is afraid of being alone..."

Aeris didn't say anything she just looked at everything around her not daring to look at Vincent. He was very odd, he didn't talk a lot but whenever he did he said the weirdest things.

They entered the snowy courtyard in silence. The courtyard looked like something out of a fairy tale. The water fountain had froze over the night before and icicles formed where the water used to flow. The trees had snow all around them and icicles hung from their tree branches. Snowmen had already been formed and decorated the courtyard nicely. People were ice skating on the lake, it was all very aesthetic.

Aeris had been walking absentmindedly looking around at everything when she ran into someone and knocked them down.

"Oh I'm so sorry!" she said leaning down to help whoever she knocked down. She met the bright blue eyes she had dreamt about every night for months now. It was Cloud, and Tifa was coming for the rescue.

"Move!" she said roughly and pushed Aeris aside, leaning down to help Cloud up. "Are you alright baby?"

"I'm fine Tifa, she didn't come up to me with a dagger or anything, calm down." he said sighing.

"I am sorry," Aeris said quietly and turned to leave, she had the sudden urge to walk back to her room for her small dagger. She used it to cut small deep slices in her wrist.

"It's fine Aeris," Cloud said playfully nudging her in the ribs, "We'll just call it pay back."

Aeris started laughing and so did Cloud, it was sort of an inside joke to them, no one knew what had happened that day. They had stopped laughing when they noticed everyone staring at them. Tifa scowled loudly and walked away, expecting Cloud to follow, surprisingly he didn't. He looked down at Aeris and they both burst out laughing.

Aeris stayed outside watching everyone play in the snow, she didn't like the snow too much so she sat on the frozen fountain reading her book. The day wore on and Tifa still hadn't come back outside. It was starting to get cold and the stars were starting to shine. So everyone went inside to eat hot soup. No one had seen or heard from Tifa since she stormed off but everyone seemed to be in a better mood without her around. Aeris was tired out from the day and walked back to her room alone.

"You better stay away from my boyfriend," Aeris turned around and was confronted by Tifa. Her eyes were read and she was shaking with fury.

"We're only friends Tifa, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Tifa screamed loudly, the sounds echoing off the walls.

"Fine don't but I'm going to bed so can you please leave?"

"Just stay away from him, he's too good for someone like you?" Tifa walked out of the room and slammed the door.

"Right." Aeris said sitting on her bed. She didn't care if Tifa liked her or not. All she cared about was if Cloud liked her.


	7. Leaving

_Okay Ch. 7!!! I appreciate reviews. Thanks for reading!!! Hope you enjoy_

Ch.7- Leaving

She had been planning to leave for a long time. She knew where the weapon was and she was going to find it without their help. Vincent had been helping her with her black magic and had taught her some powerful spells. She decided she would leave sometime next week. She had a lot to prepare for the trip out there. The place was called the Snowy Gates of Hell. Which was exactly how it sounded. The weapon was concealed in the third gate of hell. It snowed all year in that place and is just as dark and gloomy as it sounded. She wasn't going to tell anyone that she was leaving. She knew if they went that she would make it through and continue to live which was the exact opposite of what she wanted to do. She saw this trip as a death wish, she knew she wouldn't make it out alive if she went by herself and that's exactly what she wanted. She wasn't even sure if she'd make it to the weapon and personally she could care less if she did or she didn't. She wouldn't tell Vincent she was leaving either.

Aeris was packing for her long venture to Hell early in the morning. The sun was no where close to rising and she was hoping to be out of the castle before sunrise. She had everything packed and ready except for one thing, and it was out in the living room. She crept slowly down the dark halls into the moonlit living room. There on the coffee table was her sword. It shone brightly in the moonlight, the rubies in the hilt casting an eerie glow. As soon as she grabbed her sword a voice spoke out in the darkness.

"Where are you going?" It was Cloud.

"N-no where, why?"

"Then why is all of your stuff packed?"

"I'm..." she couldn't think of anything at the moment, "I'm just going away on vacation for a little while. I'll be back before you know it."

"You're lying."

"What?"

"I know you're going out to get the weapon."

"How would you know that? It isn't true."

"Aeris? Let me go with you? You can't do this alone, let me help."

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Cloud." Aeris walked past him angrily, not bothering to be quiet this time. She entered her room and slammed the door shut, but it flew open just seconds later.

"You don't understand!" Cloud shouted, "I've been there, the fiends are stronger than you think! They'll kill you Aeris."

"And what? You think that wasn't the plan?"Aeris tried to stop herself from saying it but it just came up.

"What?" Cloud asked softly, stepping forward and reaching out to touch her shoulder.

"It's nothing Cloud," she tried holding back the tears, it had been so long since she cried.

"Aeris, please, let me go with you, I want to help, we all do."

Aeris turned around and sure enough everyone was standing in her doorway, looking in at the commotion. She sighed and turned back around without saying a word. She grabbed her bag and pushed her way through the door.

"If you want to come, you have ten minutes to pack your things, I'll be outside waiting in the carriage."

The sun was now fully awake, lying just above the mountains to the east. The gang had been traveling for a few of hours in complete silence. The pathway to Hell was about half a days ride south of the castle. The path was hidden between a mountain and you could only find it if you were really looking for it, otherwise it wouldn't appear. Once they were on the path they would be faced with dangers ranging from bad weather to encounters with fiends. The fiends would grow steadily stronger as they drew closer to the mouth of Hell.

Aeris was sitting by the window of the carriage peering out the window ever so often and jotting down notes. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and her reading glasses were on. Every so often a stray lock of hair would fall from behind her ear and she would absentmindedly place it back where it should be. She was the only one that didn't seem nervous, the rest of the gang sat fidgeting in their seats.

"Uh, Aeris" Vincent said quietly, breaking Aeris out of her concentration, "Are you sure you know where we're going?"

"No." Was all she said as she and she went back to her work, "Oh yeah we're stopping in about an three hours to stop and eat. I only packed for one so we're going to have to eat very little, we might starve to death before we even get there."

Everyone looked at one another and Barret gulped loudly.

"Y-yo Aeris, uh are we gonna be able to take the carriage all the way there?" Barret asked hopefully.

Aeris laughed quietly, still looking out the window, "Once we find the path, we'll be walking, for two days through bad weather and strong fiends. I'll be happy just to make it to the cave with everyone still in one piece."

Everyone froze in their seats.

"Anymore questions?" Aeris asked calmly, "No? Didn't think so."

She smiled at all the pale faces, all of them staring in shock at her calmness, Aeris chuckled evilly and turned away, staring out the window once more.

She was being nonchalant. She was actually terrified at what lie ahead of her. She was staring out at the trees passing by in a blur, soon the thick trees turned into thinner trees and then they were gone. She was now staring out into meadows and marshes, soon they would be into rocky terrain. The path to hell was marked by a rock that looked as if it was a finger pointing the way. Aeris knew she had to walk around the rock 6 times clockwise, 6 times counterclockwise and 6 times clockwise again. Then the path would appear and they would be on their way to the weapon. She only hoped she wasn't too late. If the organization that was after her figured out where the weapon was first then they might have already obtained it. If they had already gotten the weapon she would have to fight to get it back, otherwise the world would be destroyed, and it would be all her fault. She refused to fail again. She felt that she was being watched so she turned her head quickly and sure enough Cloud was staring at her. Aeris blushed and turned away, sighing. They were almost to the path, and Aeris' fears kept growing stronger.


	8. The Path

_Alright so this is a romantic chapter lol, Reviews are appreciated, thanks to everyone that does. Enjoy!!_

**Ch. 8- The Path**

Everyone watched in shock as they stood in the rain watching Aeris walk around a rock. The carriage was already gone and everyone was trying to take cover under a low hanging tree branch. It was considerably cold and windy for late May and everyone's patience were running low.

"I think she's gone insane." Cait Sith whispered to Cloud.

He shook his head and laughed quietly. His feelings for Aeris were unexplainable. He was completely obsessed yet, for some reason, he pretended to hate her. He sighed at himself and turned away from her, picking leaves off the tree, thinking. He was staring off into space when he felt a draft of heat blow from where Aeris was working. He quickly turned and gaped in shock. Everyone "OO-ed and awe-d" at the spectacular sight in front of them.

A long dirt path had appeared just off the regular muddy path they rode in on. Massive boulders and mountains lined the dry path for what looked like eternity. When the path opened a weird reddish-brown glow had formed around the area in which they all stood. Low rumbles of thunder emanated from down the path and a streak of white lightning flew through the sky. That's when they all got really scared. Two suns, equally apart in distance, were high in the sky. One a blood red the other black as night. This made the sky look deep crimson red, nothing stirred, the only sound was the low rumble of thunder every few minutes or so.

"Are you ready?" Aeris asked with a smirk, "It's not too late to turn back now. I understand if you're afraid."

Aeris threw her hair over her shoulder and laughed, then walked down the dry path. The other people looked nervously at each other, then picked up the bags and followed Aeris.

They had been walking for about an hour non stop and Tifa began complaining. She was ranting about how bad her feet hurt and how bad the rain stung. It had started raining down this path and it wasn't ordinary droplets of water. The rain fell from the sky in big golf ball sized drops, and it wasn't crystal clear either, it was greenish and burned the skin. Aeris had no intention of stopping soon, but she was soon getting annoyed of Tifa's complaints. She found the nearest enclosure, a somewhat deep empty cave, and called it quits for the day. The boys gathered some wood, it was scarce around that area, then a quick but strong fire spell was cast upon the logs. They weren't using the fire for warmth, for it was at least 90 degrees Fahrenheit plus, they were using it as protection. Aeris had read that the creatures that roamed this area were afraid of fire, that's why they didn't live in the pits of Hell. Aeris sat alone near the fire, using it as a light to do her studies, she kept a journal for memories. Everyone was huddled close together whispering about something, Aeris didn't care. She had completely entranced in her journal writing when she noticed someone sit down beside her.

"Hey," Cloud said quietly, reaching back to rub the back of his head.

He seemed nervous. Aeris looked up at him, he wasn't looking at her, he was looking at the ground. Aeris scowled and looked back at her journal.

"Aeris?" he asked almost silent, his voice seemed to crack as he spoke her name.

"Cloud, please, I'm busy." was all Aeris said.

Cloud sighed but didn't move.

"I'm going to make things better Aeris, I promise."

"Cloud?" It was Aeris' turned to sigh. She was deeply in love with Cloud, she had been since the day she met him. "Things won't ever be okay between us as long as she's in the picture." Aeris lifted her head and tilted it in Tifa's direction. Cloud smirked and looked at Aeris.

"And what if I told you we weren't together?" He asked staring into Aeris' deep green eyes.

He held her gaze and Aeris tried to look away. The passionate gaze only broke when the group of people surrounding Aeris burst out laughing. Aeris coughed lightly and pulled a strand of hair behind her right ear, the left side she left down as a sort of shield to Cloud's stares. Seconds ticked on, it seemed like minutes and Cloud still stared intently at Aeris.

"What Cloud?" she was annoyed and just wanted him to leave her alone. She had fallen hard for him before and she didn't want to make that long trip again.

"I asked you a question didn't I?" he asked calmly.

Aeris had to recall what seemed like hours ago to her.

"Then you aren't."

"I'm not."

"Oh and I can be so sure of that huh?" She scoffed and stood up, she had no intentions to stay here with him.

"Wait," Cloud said sadly, "I'm sorry Aeris, I understand if you don't want to be with me, but please don't go."

Aeris looked down at him. His eyes were so pathetic, she had been defeated. "Damn those beautiful blue eyes," Aeris thought to herself.

"We have to get up early tomorrow, maybe it would be best if we just go to sleep." Aeris said quietly.

"Where are we sleeping?"

Aeris looked around, then stated, "Pick a rock? Or perhaps you would prefer the ground. My pick? The ground. More room to move around."

"Yes," Cloud replied, "But there are a lot more bugs down there then there is on the rocks."

"Perhaps."

Aeris shrugged and turned to walk away again.

"Stay with me," Cloud said quietly, "I want to keep the bugs away."

Aeris laughed and rolled her eyes. "Bugs, shmugs. What you should be worried about are the fiends that lie ahead."

But Aeris didn't walk away, she sat down near Cloud and smiled slightly.

"Did you just say shmugs?" Cloud laughed.

Aeris blushed furiously. Cloud reached over, stroking her cheek, still laughing slightly.

"You're really beautiful, you know that?"

Aeris was once again captivated with his eyes. She felt the burning sensation of eyes on her so she looked away quickly. Tifa was staring at her with hard cold eyes. Aeris smirked at her then looked back at Cloud.

"You're the only one that ever told me that, you know?"

"Really? I think you should be told that all the time."

"Well then I expect to hear it from you at least three times a day." She laughed and he smirked.

"Why just three?"

"Well you can tell me it more but before breakfast, lunch, and dinner will do just fine." Cloud laughed loudly, causing more of the opposing group to stare.

"We seem to be extremely interesting, don't you think?" Cloud said, looking only at Aeris.

"Yes, we do seem to be attracting some attention." She looked back into Clouds eyes and smiled, "Shall we make it a little more interesting?"

Cloud gulped and stopped smiling as Aeris placed her hand high up on his leg, biting her lip seductively. As soon as Cloud noticed her scheme and played along. His face slowly inched towards hers, then ever so slowly, he pressed his lips softly on hers. Aeris didn't expect his ips to be so breathtaking, she wanted more but knew it wasn't a good idea. Aeris moved her head away from him slower than she should have, she wanted that feeling to linger on her lips forever. Her eyes were still closed when she heard Tifa yell in fury and stomp away. Cloud laughed quietly, Aeris' eyes were still closed, but she laughed too. She felt Cloud's hand brush along her exposed neck and collarbone, she let out a soft sigh and Cloud snickered quietly.

"Open your eyes." Aeris obeyed, they were alone, everyone must have left with Tifa. Aeris smiled and yawned then laid down on the rock. Cloud lay beside her, not speaking just staring at her. They fell asleep just like that, not expecting to have such a rude awakening in the morning.


	9. The Last Day

_**Okay sorry it's been so long, but here it is!! Thank you SO SO much to my reviewers, I lub you guys :)**_

**Ch. 9- The Last Day**

A loud boom woke everyone up early in the morning. The sun was barely over the mountains and it created a weird orange glow across the desolate land.

"What the fuck was that?" Barret yelled and another boom shook the ground.

They all stood up and ran over to the edge of the cliff. Thousands of odd creatures were battling each other. Creatures of all sizes swarmed around the bottom grounds and strong black magic spells zoomed in and out of the crowd.

"We should go," Aeris said, "While they're busy we can get passed all of them without being seen."

"You think?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, come on you guys."

They gathered their stuff quickly and headed down the small hill they were on.

"So after we get to this cave," Vincent wondered walking slowly by Aeris, "What should we expect?"

Aeris stared at him sadly and shook her head. "I told you all not to come."

"It can't be that bad... could it?"

"Vincent! We're going to Hell! Literally. What did you all expect? Sephiroth?" Aeris chuckled.

"Wait? So you're saying the things in that cave are worse than Sephiroth?"

"Well, they don't have the power to take over the world but... they are going to be harder to fight off. Trust me. And who knows? Maybe we'll see the dead Seph–"

Aeris stumbled and started falling head first down the hill. Vincent wasn't fast enough but Cloud was able to grab her before she fell. Cloud grabbed her hand and pulled her back but she was still fumbling backwards. There was something wrong with her eyes, they were rolled back in her head and she was pulling Cloud down with her. He stumbled, falling on top of her and rolled down the rest of the hill holding Aeris close to him. As soon as they stopped Cloud grabbed Aeris' face and looked at it. She had foam coming from her mouth and she was convulsing slightly.

"Aeris!" Cloud yelled and the rest came running. Aeris stopped moving, she wasn't breathing anymore.

"What the hell happened Cloud!" Yuffie asked kneeling down next to Aeris.

"I- I don't know, she isn't breathing someone help her!" Cloud screamed looking around, no one was going to help.

"Move!" a voice yelled pushing through the group of people.

"Everest?" they all murmured.

"You think I couldn't find you all?" He laughed. He whispered a spell then blew it onto Aeris' face. She immediately breathed, well gasped, back into life. Her eyes were full of fear as she looked around. She went to say something but instead vomited on the ground, she shuddered and fainted.

"What the hell happened?" Red XIII asked urgently.

"It's the blood of her father, it has a natural repellent for Hell atmosphere. He was destined to be evil from birth." Everest picked Aeris up and then stood. "We need to go now, before it completely consumes her, it could be fatal."

Everyone nodded quietly and followed Everest, he was walking quickly, trying to avoid the battle between the demons. It had started to rain again, but it was worse this time. It was pouring now and the acidic drops of water burned the skin even worse this time. The thunder boomed and rolled across the sky at deafening sounds, lightning kept striking at the same spot up ahead. As they loomed closer to the spot of the lightning strikes they saw it was a large cave. Ear piercing screams emanated from the depths of the cave and creatures of all sizes entered and exited the cave. Everest stopped under the only tree for the night, although the tree provided little shelter for the group. A fire was not needed, the temperature must have been above 100 degrees and everyone was drenched in acidic rain and sweat. Aeris was still asleep when Everest set her down on the hard ground. She shuddered a little and muttered under her breath. Barret's stomach growled loudly and everyone looked at him sadly. They had ran out of food, now they only had water.

"I see you didn't bring enough food for your journey." Everest stated and gathered a few rocks and tree branches. He murmured some more magic and blew. The stones and branches turned into food. The stones turned to hard meat and the branches turned to lettuce.

"It isn't much," Everest said picking up the meat and handing it out, "But it will have to do. I am much too tired to make something more tasty.

Cloud had sat protectively next to the slumbering Aeris, watching intently every time she stirred. Everyone sat quietly, miserably, in a circle. It was still raining and everyone was an odd tint of pink from the acid burning them, no one complained.

It was after nightfall when Aeris finally awoke, everyone was sound asleep, including Cloud. His arm was protectively draped around her waist and his face was nestled into her neck, he was snoring slightly. Aeris laughed quietly and nudged him awake, she was surprised at how alive she felt!

"Wha... Aeris?" Cloud whispered quietly, his eyes were still half closed and he was having a fierce battle with sleep.

"Wake up, I want to show you something?" Aeris whispered standing up, then reached down to help Cloud up. She started walking quietly away from the group holding onto Cloud's hand for comfort.

"Where are we going?" Cloud asked whispering, "You don't know anything about this place. We could get lost and then die, probably a horrible death too!"

"Cloud!" Aeris said turning around to face Cloud, she had a huge grin on her face, "We'll be okay, I just want to show you something, I saw it before I passed out."

Cloud nodded and continued walking closely behind Aeris, holding her hand tightly with his. They came across a small meadow, it was the only green he had seen in days. A small river flowed through the middle of the green grass and a few trees stood protecting it. Aeris let go of Cloud's hand and walked to the stream, she laid down and exhaled quickly, something was bothering her.

"Hey," Cloud said softly, walking over to her, "Are you okay?"

She got into a sitting position and hugged her legs close to her body, then sighed, "Yeah, just a little sad."

"Why!" Cloud exclaimed, "We're almost there! It's almost over Aeris, then you can live your life freely."

Aeris scoffed and looked away, "Cloud," she mumbled, "I saw how it ends, I saw it all..."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"I'm going to die Cloud, I'm going to die being the hero..."

"Aeris... the future always changes, every little thing you do changes the future."

Aeris smiled and looked at him, "I hope you're right. Do you want to know why I brought you here?"

"Yeah, of course."

"I don't want to die a- a, virgin." Aeris mumbled the last word quietly.

Cloud smiled and held back a laugh, then pulled Aeris' face toward him. "And you're sure you want me to take that from you?"

Aeris thought for a second, then nodded. Cloud sighed and shook his head, "I can't do that to you Aeris, I've been terrible to you, it wouldn't be right."

"But I want you to, trust me. Do this for me Cloud."

He looked at her with worried eyes, he wanted her, he always had, but he would feel terrible for doing it. He sighed again and put his head in his hands, grabbing his hair and pulling.

"Never mind Cloud, it's okay." Aeris quietly stood up and turned to walk away.

"Wait," Cloud's voice broke and he gulped loudly, "I- I want to do it. But only if you love me."

"Do you love me?" Aeris was still facing away from him staring at the starless night.

"I always have, always will."

"I've always loved you too..."

Tears began to fall from her bright green eyes, she felt Cloud stand behind her, his hot breath gave her chills. He reached his warm hands around her, his right on her waist to pull her closer and the left to stroke her cold cheek. He turned her around gently to face him, both of them were serious. He wiped the tears off her face and then grabbed her face gently with both hands, pulling her close, their mouths were centimeters apart.

As he spoke, his lips vibrated against hers, "I won't let you die Aeris, I love you too much to lose you now."

He looked passionately into her sad eyes then breathed in and pressed his soft pink lips firmly against hers...

* * *

Okay so I'm not sure if any of the people that are reading my story like vivid sex details, if you do tell me and I'll write a second version to this chapter! So reviews are appreciated but not required lol 


	10. Final Destination

**Okay! This is it, sorry it's been so long. It's kid of depressing but I hope you all like it. Thank you to everyone who reviewed I appreciate it. Read and Enjoy :)**

**Ch. 10 Final Destination-**

The group awoke bright and early the next day, everyone was too afraid to speak. They walked slowly to the mouth of the cave, of Hell. As they approached the screaming from inside became louder and louder. They became loud shrieks and cries of pain the heat that emanated from the cave was almost unbearable.

"We are not going in there are we?" Tifa shuddered and took a step back.

"Yes, that's our final destination." Aeris said calmly. She sighed and put her hair up, gave Cloud a quick smile and then stepped carefully inside.

"Are you guys coming or what?" Cloud said and smirked then followed Aeris inside.

Everyone gave each other looks of skepticism but sighed and walked in.

The cave was not dark, a faint reddish-glow lit up the room they were in, it was completely silent. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound. The room was completely empty. Everyone had pulled their weapons out slowly and looked around the room, but there was nothing.

"Well, lets uh... go." Yuffie said quietly, taking a few steps forward to the next cave.

They entered that one and again nothing. A few small creatures scuffled around the dirt floor and up the green trees. Everyone looked around amazed at the scene. Huge palm trees jutted out from the cave floor, small bushels of grass were growing here and there. There was even a bright blue sky with a few clouds drifting through.

"Wow!" Barret whispered. Everyone was distracted, it was exactly what was supposed to happen.

A large dog, the exact size of a Great Dane but the exact color of the sand in the cave. He lurked around the edges of the trees, growling lowly and waiting to make it's move. The dog was somewhat stupid and stepped on a twig snapping it in half. It created a soft snapping noise that only Cloud had heard. Cloud's head snapped down and found the dogs eyes, he pushed Aeris aside just in time, for the dog had jumped quickly towards the group, snapping his jaws ferociously. It was an easy fight, Cloud held up his sword and the dog had landed right on his blade, cutting it in half easily.

Barret let out a low whistle and clapped Cloud on the back, chuckling slightly. "Nice job man!"

Cloud smirked and grabbed Aeris' hand, walking into the next and last cave of Hell that they would visit.

They entered again with more "Oohs and Awe's" from the group, it was snowing. The cave was extremely dark but the white snow on the ground gave the cave some light. In the exact center was the weapon they needed. Aeris walked over to it gracefully and smiled, the next events that happened, happened in slow motion.

Aeris' hand slowly reached the weapon and picked it up while Everest screamed, "No!" Before Aeris could stop herself from picking it up the a low rumble echoed through the room. Out of the darkness came what looked like a money, except it's limbs were razor sharp knives and the fur was also sharp. It's abnormally long arms stabbed through the darkness and went towards Aeris, before she could move Cloud had stepped in front of her... the arm stabbed right through him.

"Cloud!" Aeris whispered and grabbed him before he fell to the ground. He was heavy so Aeris gently lowered herself to the ground, Cloud's bloody body was limp. Blood poured from his wound and onto the ground, everyone was too shocked to do anything, they just stood there, mouths opened wide.

Everest was busy taking down the monkey- thing, it wasn't hard for him.

"Cloud!" Aeris yelled, she moved her hand towards the wound and out pressure on it to stop the bleeding, it was too deep though, it continued to bleed. Aeris looked around wildly, her eyes stinging with tears, "Help me!" She yelled at the people standing around her, "Help me, please, we have to do something!"

"Aeris, stop." Red XIII whispered walking over to her, "He's gone, there isn't anything you can do."

Cloud coughed and blood spurted out of his mouth, he gasped for air. Aeris was now crying hard, tears flowed freely from her eyes, her hand reached up and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Aeris." He gasped, reaching his arm up to wipe the tears from her eyes, "Aeris it's okay. I promised I wouldn't let you die, remember."

Aeris nodded and gasped, "Clou-."

"No, it's okay, I love you that's all that matters right?"

"No! It isn't, I was supposed to die not you!"

Cloud shuddered, he was dying. "I- I love you Aeris, n-never forget that." He shuddered once more and went limp.

"No Cloud!" Aeris shook him beginning to sob more, "I love you too! I love you too, wake up, please!"

The cave began to shake some more and out of the walls came more fiends, different though and not as strong as the razor sharp monkey.

"Aeris we have to go." Everest said pulling her arm, "Now."

"No, we can't leave him!" Aeris sobbed.

"We can't take him either."

"Yes we can!" Barret pushed passed him and picked up Cloud's lifeless body. "He deserves a proper burial."

Everest nodded and picked up Aeris, she was exhausted and refused to move. The group ran quickly through the cave and out into the open. It was dark now and raining the acid rain again.

"Wait!" Everest said breathing hard, he was out of breath, "I can get us out of here faster, take her." He handed Tifa Aeris' sleeping body and started saying complicated spells under his breath. Out of nowhere came a hot air balloon, big enough for everyone to sit comfortably. "Let's go."

Everyone climbed in, reluctant to be able to rest. Once everyone was seated the hot air balloon took off and everyone was able to get their minds in order.

Cloud was dead, they had gotten the weapon and... Cloud was dead. Yuffie sniffed and Tifa let out a loud sob. Aeris was still sound asleep.

**Epilogue**

Cloud was buried the day after the had gotten back to the castle. It was a nice breezy day, a perfect day. Too perfect for a funeral. Aeris had cried for days after and had become extremely depressed, there was nothing anyone could do to help her.

Weeks after Aeris found out she was pregnant and months later she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Noah Alexander Strife. He looked just like Cloud except for his hair, it was golden brown, just like Aeris'. Aeris took Noah down to Cloud's grave everyday and talked to Cloud, things got better for her after that. She went on to never getting married and Noah was her only child. Tifa and her had become good friends after a while. Aeris was always hurting though and every night before she went to sleep she wished for a life without pain


End file.
